Arsene Wenger’s right-hand man and assistant, Steve Bould is highly unlikely to be retained in his current position when the new manager is appointed, possibly Mikel Arteta as per multiple reports.
It was claimed that Bould was considering his options after Wenger’s departure but the final decision is unlikely to be his. Although he has valuable knowledge and experience of the setup at the Emirates, he is also partly responsible for the clubs current decline in form, especially in defence.
Unless Arsenal appoint a manager who is willing to work with existing staff as part of their contractual obligations, Bould is likely to be part of a drastic reshuffle. Most incoming managers have a clear idea of who they intend to have supporting them, whether it’s Henry, Arteta, Naglesmann or even Conte, they will want the freedom to employ their own backroom staff.
The North London club appear to be slightly top heavy on former players who are part of the coaching system. Freddie Ljungberg is rumoured to be heading back to Arsenal, who already have Mertesacker, Pires and Lehmann in coaching roles, so Bould may be surplus to requirements.
It would be a glaring oversight for the board not to clear out the old in favour of the new if they are truly serious about reshaping the club to make them genuine contenders once again. Bould has been a loyal servant to Arsenal as a player and as Wenger’s assistant but the club can ill-afford any sentiment because of the north Londoners sharp decline over four seasons.
Bould has to accept his share of the blame for the Gunners current predicament. As a defender of note, he knew that Arsenal lacked resilience in defence and could have made recommendations to Wenger. He didn’t and we ended up the same way we have for the last few seasons, out of contention for all the top prizes by January.
If you are about to mention the Europa League semi-final against Atletico Madrid as an example of potential silverware in the period after that, try to resist the urge. It simply highlighted all of Arsenal’s defensive frailties as it tamely capitulated in yet another big game.
It wasn’t even like Atletico outplayed or outclassed them over two legs but they did all the basics correctly, defending in numbers and removing the threat, whilst taking their chances at the other end. The defensive lapses weren’t exactly a new discovery, Wenger and Bould had seen the consequences of having a jelly belly defence, season after season but these deficiencies were masked by FA cup wins in 2014 and 2015.
The defence has now become Sven Mislintat’s top priority and it’s quite a puzzle to solve. It’s unlikely that many of the current defence will survive the cull and one suspects Mustafi will be the first casualty for his slapstick defending and inability to forge a meaningful central partnership.
His earlier career at Arsenal seemed incredibly promising but last season, he seemed to have regressed to less than average by displaying poor positional play and awareness. If progress is to be made, then Bould should step down without being asked.
